Wrath Of The Master
by darkestboy
Summary: Following another humiliating defeat, the Master seizes on an opportunity to take over Gallifrey. For that, he needs the Doctor's help, whether the other Time Lord likes it or not. Set between The Five Doctors and Warriors Of The Deep.


**Name: **Wrath Of The Master  
**Characters: **5th Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough, The Master  
**Synopsis:** Following another humiliating defeat, the Master seizes on an opportunity to take over Gallifrey. For that, he needs the Doctor's help, whether the other Time Lord likes it or not. Set between _The Five Doctors_ and _Warriors Of The Deep_.

The Master had been released from his bondage and dumped outside the Death Zone. Rassilon didn't even have the mercy to transport him off Gallifrey. He looked around, disgusted that he was stranded in the equivalent of a wasteland but he was not worried about any more surprise attacks.

The Cybermen who had been brought here were all obliterated one way or another, the Dalek that he knew had been set up had somehow managed to blow itself up. He had overheard the oldest looking Doctor and Tegan discuss that and as long as he kept a vigilant eye out for anything else, especially that Raston robot, there was no reason as to why he shouldn't be safe enough.

Still he looked this planet, his home world and he couldn't help but sigh in disapproval. Borusa had been such a deluded old fool to actually think that he would be granted immortality and suffered the consequences dearly and as for the Doctor — where to start with him, any version of him.

The Master had had some initial reluctance in wanting to help the Doctor find and save his other selves but he remembered that a universe without the Doctor hadn't been worth thinking about. The Doctor had thrown his attempts of help back in his face by abandoning him to the Cybermen and then ignoring him as Rassilon left him in the wastelands. Revenge was definitely going to be a dish best served hot but what to do?

From across a reasonable distance, the Master could see his own TARDIS and that decided the obvious thing. He needed to get off Gallifrey before Flavia or the Castellan came looking for him with armed guards. After all the grief he had to endure today, he was not going to prison. The Master took one last look around the wastelands and then took his walk towards his TARDIS, all the while plotting where it would hurt the Doctor the most.

Inside another TARDIS, Tegan Jovanka had pulled her red haired friend from earshot of their pilot and asked the question that both of them had been wondering for the last hour.

"Is he making a huge mistake?"

"About running away from the presidency?" Turlough raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?"

"You know what the Doctor's like," Tegan reminded him. "Ask him about a certain issue and he closes up. All I'd get is a brick wall if I asked him."

"Maybe," Turlough mused, "but it's better than just second guessing him, right?"

With that Turlough strolled up towards the Doctor as Tegan followed him from behind, trying to give him a warning look, which Turlough chose to ignore.

"Doctor," Turlough asked as the Doctor looked away from the controls to the young Trion, who had his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, Turlough," the Doctor bit his lip, sensing that whatever Turlough was going to ask him was going to be something that Tegan wasn't enthused about.

"Are you sure about this?" Turlough came out with it in a direct manner. "Not taking Councillor Flavia up on the presidency. Won't they come after you?"

The Doctor pondered for a second. He had had two considerable answers for the first two concerns but was stumped on the third. Not because he didn't know the answer but because he did and he didn't like the answer one bit.

"Ah, that," the Doctor started but was interrupted by Tegan.

"You hadn't thought of the last one, did you?" she asked him, her arms folded as she leaned her back against the console.

"Well, it's not that I hadn't thought of it," the Doctor started again. "More that I didn't want to think about it."

"They're gonna come after you, aren't they?" Turlough sighed with annoyance. "And you knew, didn't you?"

"Doctor," Tegan cut it, similarly annoyed. "How long do we have?"

"Before Flavia sends someone looking for me?" the Doctor asked. "I don't know. Maybe she won't. At least not for a while. Flavia's one of the better Time Lords."

"Less bureaucratic?" Tegan asked him. "We should've known when she was going on about the presidency being an offer you couldn't refuse."

"Yes," the Doctor admitted. "But it's not an offer I want to accept either. I'm not the kind of Time Lord you elect for a president. I'm more the -,"

"— kind who deposes them?" a familiar laugh had ringed in the TARDIS.

"What was that?" Tegan turned around to see but no-one was there.

"More like who," the Doctor muttered grimly. Then a series of flashes inside the TARDIS had happened and soon, a grandfather clock was standing in the console room and out stepped a very familiar face.

"Not you again," was Turlough's reaction upon seeing a certain Time Lord but it was one that unified him, the Doctor and Tegan in agreement.

"How did you?" Tegan stammered as the Master walked towards the three of them.

"We never did learn where Rassilon sent you," the Doctor said. "Get out of my ship."

"That's not very hospitable, my dear Doctor," the Master laughed. "After all, I came here to congratulate you on your victories."

"Likely story," muttered Tegan as she kept a watchful eye on the Master. Turlough however was feeling around for anything that could be used as a weapon.

"Why are you really here?" the Doctor asked, impatience dripping in his voice. "Whatever it is, you won't get it."

"What do you think I could possibly want, other than to visit an old friend?" the Master feigned hurt. "Really, Doctor, you do have a tendency to think the worst of people."

"Not people, just you," the Doctor smiled when he said that. "And you seem sore from not getting immortality."

"I'll admit that I wasn't pleased with your interference but I can live without eternal life for a while," the Master smiled again. "Right now, there's something more pressing from you that I want and you will hand it over or else."

"Or else what?" the Doctor asked. "This isn't an even playing ground, Master. You're in my ship now and I wouldn't hesitate to eject you and your TARDIS from it if you don't leave of your own accord. You only get one warning."

"Before or after I kill Miss Jovanka and the Trion?"

Before the Doctor could respond, Turlough lunged a punch towards the Master but his aim was off course. The Master had caught his fist midway, tightened his grip and flung the Trion to the floor.

"Turlough," Tegan shouted before trying her luck too but the Master was clever and blew something silvery from his pocket into the girl's face. She slumped to the floor.

"What did you do to her?" the Doctor said as the Master had slammed him towards the TARDIS door.

"A little sleeping powder," the Master smiled. "Mostly harmless but if she isn't given an antidote within an hour, then she sleeps forever, Doctor. As does the young man here."

Turlough had unwisely chosen the wrong time to get up for a rematch. The Master glanced at him with disdain and blew more of the sleeping powder, making Turlough slump to the floor in a heap beside Tegan.

"Have I made my point clear, Doctor?" the Master then pointed his TCE at both Tegan and Turlough.

"What do you want?" the Doctor asked, powerless to get between the Master and his companions.

"Revenge," the Master sneered. "But for the time being, your presidency will do."

"My presidency?" the Doctor almost laughed in disgust. "You really think Councillor Flavia is going to hand you that for my friends? You know how the Time Lords think of humans. This is one of your worst plans yet."

"You really don't get it, do you, Doctor?" the Master laughed. "Councillor Flavia is going to have no problem allowing me to be president."

"And how do you work that one out?" the Doctor folded his arms. "After your attempts of sabotage, I don't think the high council are going to see you as a beacon of hope."

"Actually they will, Doctor," the Master laughed, putting the TCE away and producing another object from his pockets. A small circular object, opaque but glowing brightly.

"And why's that?" the Doctor asked he noticed the object but it was too late for him.

"Because I'm going to look exactly like you," the Master snarled grabbing the Doctor's left hand and slamming the object into it with his own hand over the object too.

Both Time Lords screamed in pain as though their insides were being ripped apart. Technically, it felt as if they were but the feeling only lasted a minute and then they were staring at each other.

"It can't be," the Doctor stammered, seeing himself but it wasn't him. The young man in the cricket and lapels that he was used had a vicious smile on his face.

"But it is," the man laughed as he came up towards the Doctor in his new, older body and yanked the silvery powder that Tegan and Turlough had been victim to and blew it into the Doctor's face before he could protest. The Doctor slumped to the floor and the Master looked at him and sighed with approval.

"Welcome to your new body, Doctor."

And with that, the Master headed over to the controls and set the co-ordinates for a very familiar place. After all, he had a planet to run.

Flavia knew that he wasn't going to return. The Doctor had fobbed her off with an excuse just so he could continue travelling through time and space with the human friends of his. Flavia could never fathom that out about the Doctor. What was it about the human race that made him want to constantly leap in to protect them and defend them against his own people and other alien threats?

Flavia did not loathe the human race but at the same time, she couldn't get the fuss surrounding them. Sure, both humans and Time Lords looked like each other and there were certain humans in history responsible for the advances of their race but not one of them had the superior knowledge that only the Time Lords possessed. In a lot of ways, the human race was still primitive, not that far detached from the Neanderthal they originated from. If the Doctor didn't return soon enough, Flavia would have to instigate some force in bringing him home but she was hoping that that would be a last resort. Forcing the Doctor to do something he didn't want to had a tendency to backfire on the council. Flavia did not want that to happen again.

Fifty seven minutes had passed since the Doctor had been forced into his new body and rendered unconscious. In another three minutes, he would be dead, no chance of regeneration. Similarly in two minutes, both Tegan and Turlough would also share the Doctor's dire fate. The Master contemplated letting this happen. Without the three of them, his plan would go off without a hitch but that would be too easy and easy was never fun, was it?

"I hope I'm not going to regret this," the Master sighed as he looked over to the sleeping Doctor and blew some purple dust into his face. In the Doctor's body, the Master had made sure to snatch all his potions so they couldn't be used on him.

The Doctor roused from his sleep, rubbing his hand to his head and stroking his chin. He had a beard now. He had never one of those before in any of his past incarnations.

"What have you done?" the Doctor tried rising to his feet but found himself slipping back to the floor.

"You don't like it?" the Master asked smartly. "I thought it was always a handsome body myself. Poor Tremas. Still, he gave his life to a noble cause — me!"

"Why can't I move?" the Doctor struggled to get up but found it difficult to keep his footing and fell down again.

"The powder does have some lingering effects such as a temporary loss of standing up," the Master looked over at Tegan and Turlough. "Now what to do with these two? Any suggestions, Doctor?"

"Let them go," the Doctor stared at the Master gravely. "It's me you want, not them."

"For once I'm in agreement," the Master smiled as he blew the purple powder over Tegan and Turlough. "Besides they could be useful."

"What do you mean?"

The Master ignored him and watched as Tegan and Turlough awoke from their slumber. Tegan looked at the smiling face above her head.

"Doctor?"

"Tegan!" shouted the real Doctor, unable to move towards her. "Stay away from him."

"It's me," the Master smiled, a sickening faux reassuring smile as he helped Tegan up off her feet. "Can you walk?"

"I think so," Tegan looked at the Doctor glad to see him, hugging him but unaware of the man she was really hugging. And then she looked at a different man with disdain. "What happened to him?"

"Tegan, it's me," the Doctor protested, trying to reach out to her but a warning Turlough kicked his hand away.

"Stay away from her," Turlough warned the man that he thought was the Master before turning to the real one. "Why can't he get up?"

"He fell victim to one of his own potions," the Master sneered at the Doctor. "It's what happens when you carry too many with you."

"Serve him right," Tegan said, glancing at him with disgust before turning to the man who looked like the Doctor. "So, what do we do with him now?"

"We bring him back to Gallifrey," the Master said simply and then off Tegan and Turlough's looks. "I don't have a choice. He's too dangerous to be left here."

"But once you set foot on Gallifrey," Turlough interrupted, "you'll have no choice but to accept the presidency. Flavia will do everything to stop us from leaving a second time."

"Yes, she would, wouldn't she?" the Master smiled. "I suppose if President of Gallifrey is to be my final fate, then -"

"- That's never going to happen," the Doctor shouted, still unable to get himself off the ground as he looked at Tegan and Turlough. "Don't you see?"

"See what?" Tegan asked, keeping a safe distance from the man she hated more than anyone she had ever met in her life.

"That man there isn't the Doctor, I am," the Doctor protested. "He's the Master."

"Don't be ridiculous," Turlough snorted. "I knew you'd try anything, Master but even this is a new low for you."

"It is a bit desperate," the Master said with a cruel smile on his face. "You might as well accept your fate, my dear Master."

"I'm telling you the truth," the Doctor made for a further protest before the Master swooped over and picked him up. "Tegan. Turlough, look at him."

"We've landed," the Master interrupted, "Turlough, open the doors."

"Turlough, don't," begged the Doctor but the Trion chose to ignore him as the doors flung open. They were in the hall of the High Council.

"We're here," Tegan said simply. "No point trying to escape now."

"You have to believe me," the Doctor shouted as now both the Master and Turlough had a firm grip on each of his arms and dragged him out of the TARDIS.

"Welcome home," the Master was able to whisper in the Doctor's ear without Turlough hearing what was said.

Upon stepping out of the TARDIS, the four of them were not surprised by the welcoming party that had been there for them, guns all pointing at them in case of any false movements.

"I return home of my own accord," the Master grunted with disdain at the commander standing before him. "And who do I get but you? Welcome party, indeed."

"Were you expecting your predecessor?" Commander Maxil had shot back icily before indicating his men. "Withdraw."

"A wise decision," the Master sneered. "As president, I would hate for your career to go in flames but as long as we both understand each other, I see no reason why it should."

"Maxil, don't listen to him," protested the Doctor, trying to break out of the Master and Turlough's respective vice like grips on his arms.

"Isn't this interesting?" Maxil smiled. "Both the most errant Time Lords return to Gallifrey."

"You don't understand," the Doctor tried to explain but the Master smacked him across the face, the action taking both Tegan and Turlough aback with surprise.

"Oh, do shut up, Master," the Master glared at the Doctor before focusing on Maxil's gaze of the Doctor.

"Just because I have to respect one of you two rogues, doesn't mean I need to share a similar courtesy for the other," Maxil sneered as he pointed the butt of his gun at the Doctor's chest.

"You will not kill him either," the Master interjected, wedging himself in between the Doctor and Maxil. "Imprison him for the time being but his life will be spared until I decide what punishment he deserves."

"Are you sure, Doctor?" another voice had entered the hallway. Both the Doctor and the Master turned around and noticed that it was Flavia.

"Chancellor Flavia," the Master smiled, kissing her hand as she came within proximity of him. "I do believe that I have a presidency to take over and as for your question, I am very sure. The Master might be a killer but I am not. After all, as the Doctor, I'm known for my mercy, am I not?"

The last question was drenched with sarcasm so biting and icy that even Maxil found himself perturbed by it. The Doctor noticed that Maxil was beginning to lose his concentration and needed to act quickly. He was going to hate himself for this but time was of the essence.

"So, I'll just put the Master in one of our deluxe cells then?" Maxil turned to the Doctor. "I think that would be the one without the rats then."

Maxil might have snickered and congratulated himself on a nice riposte but the smile soon disappeared from his face when he noticed that his gun was missing.

"What the blazes?" Maxil looked up and saw that the man he had happily displayed meanness to was now in possession of his weapon.

Before Tegan could react, the Doctor grabbed her and pointed the gun at her. Turlough tried to reach out for her but the Master pulled him back and slammed him again the wall.

"Get off me," Tegan struggled but couldn't break the Doctor's grip on her arm. He was clinging on for dear life to her.

"I see your legs are functional again," the Master smiled, unafraid as he walked towards the Doctor. "But you won't get very far. Now, give me back Tegan and admit defeat."

"He won't make it out of this building alive," Maxil said, in a threatening tone. The Master glared at the commander, silently warning him against any rash movements.

"I'd really advice against that," the Doctor glanced at the commander before whispering in Tegan's ear. "You have to trust me."

"Why would I trust you?" Tegan shouted. "You're the last person, I'd ever trust."

"Think about it," the Master warned. "There's nowhere for you to run. You're surrounded."

The Master motioned for the Doctor to take a look behind him. The Doctor glanced long before to realise that a few more of Maxil's men were there. He was surrounded and soon enough, Maxil would ignore the Master's protests to keep him alive and order a shooting. He needed to think of something fast. And then he realised.

"I never said I was going to run," the Doctor looked at the Master, producing the teleport device that he had taken from not so long ago on Gallifrey. "Must dash."

"Don't you dare," the Master lunged for the Doctor but the Time Lord and Tegan disappeared and he fell to the floor.

"Well, that went well," Maxil muttered sarcastically.

"Find them!" the Master exploded with rage, rejecting both Flavia and Turlough's assistance in picking him up off the ground. "Make sure they don't leave this planet."

Then he pointed to three of the soldiers. "And guard that TARDIS. He won't get far without it. I want him alive."

With that the Master stormed off with Flavia in hot pursuit. Both of them had things to discuss but it was Turlough, left behind who began to realise that something wasn't right. He had seen the Doctor angry, upset, confused, and lost and other such emotions but there was callousness behind that anger displayed and then it struck Turlough.

"He was right," Turlough murmured and with that, he sped down the hallway to catch up with Flavia and the man he now knew was the Master in the wrong body.

Tegan Jovanka had woken up to a black starless night. It had been a fortnight since the Doctor had rescued her from the clutches of the Master and the guards of the High Council. At the time, she had assumed that she was being abducted. It had taken quite a lot of convincing from the Doctor for Tegan to realise that it was the other way around.

Tegan's mind had flashed to it. They had landed in the outskirts of the city and her first impulse had been to punch him square in the face. To her, the man that had teleported her away was the Master. There was no way the evil man could really be the one she trusted more than anyone else.

_"I am the Doctor," the bearded man had grabbed her shoulders tightly beseeched to her._

"I don't believe you," Tegan had struggled in his grip as the man's hands touched her temples and she flung her head back.

Tegan had never been curious enough to enter the head of a Time Lord and entering the head of the Doctor certainly hadn't been an experience that she would yearn to repeat. She saw the moment where both she and Turlough had been rendered unconscious and the Master had used a device to switch bodies with himself and the Doctor.

It was in this moment that she had finally believed him but having the Doctor in the body of the man she despised wasn't the easiest of things to deal with.

"Tegan," the Doctor had called out, startling her. While it just had been the two of them in the cave, the Doctor had been gone for a while and his reappearance had startled her.

"You didn't get caught then?" Tegan turned around, seeing that with the Doctor, some schematics had been with him, well underneath his arm. "How is he?"

The last question had been a reference to Turlough. Both Tegan and the Doctor were learning that having a man on the inside was something of an advantage but it didn't stop either one of them worrying for Turlough either.

"Hoping that I know what I'm doing," the Doctor said as he laid the schematics out on the mudded floor of the cave. Tegan picked up the flamed torch, near enough for a better view of the drawings.

"And do you?" Tegan had to ask him. "It's been two weeks, Doctor. If we don't act soon enough, the Master is going to get suspicious."

"I know," the Doctor stopped her in her tracks, "but if we act too rashly, then he's going to have us at a disadvantage. For the time being, he believes that Turlough in on his side. That Flavia is on his side. Right now, that's the best thing for all of us."

"I hope you're right," Tegan said ruefully and glanced outside. It was still starless and she didn't like the woodlands surrounding them at night. All kind of things could be out there. Something like a Raston robot was almost the least of her worries. More than that though, she wanted to get off Gallifrey with the Doctor and Turlough in one piece.

Turlough had realised that in the space of two weeks since the Master took over Gallifrey, the thing he had hated as much as a sociopath having dominion over a planet was becoming the equivalent of a scullery maid to the said sociopath.

The Master had kept him at quite a distance, giving him as little responsibility as possible but also questioning his every move. Turlough knew from the way that Maxil would look at him as he passed the hallways that he was being watched. This made things difficult for him but there had been a silver lining of sorts in recent days.

Alone in his study, Turlough had looked at some of the drawings he had done. Many of them were fairly insignificant, landscapes and the like but all of them gave him a yearning to act faster. If he could get the Master alone in a room and trap him there long enough for the Doctor to come back, he'd do it but he needed to bide his time as the Doctor had advised. The only source of comfort to him was knowing that the Doctor and Tegan were safe. He had Flavia to thank for that.

Flavia entered his room, closing the door behind her. Maxil had tried his best to stop her.

"You may leave, Maxil," Flavia dismissed him indignantly. Maxil grudgingly took his leave.

"Were you followed?" was the first question that Turlough had asked. He knew the first one should've been about her safety and well being but it was an important question not to ask.

"No," Flavia said. "Our Lord and Master is seemingly uninterested in my private business provided I am in agreement to his wishes. Do you really think this will work?"

"The Doctor seems to think so," Turlough mused as he opened the door a tiny fraction to check that Maxil wasn't standing out there eavesdropping. "We don't have long before the Master gets to that tomb. We just need to find a way of derailing him. Give the Doctor and Tegan a head start."

"Could be easier said than done," Flavia mused as she looked around. "The Master was clever enough to steal the Doctor's body. He could be similarly clever with whatever he has in store at the tomb of Rassilon."

"That's what worries me," Turlough sighed, before realising the time. "I have to go. I'm sure our Lord and Master has some demeaning task for me to do. Hierarchy Time Lords, are you all this cruel?"

Turlough didn't give Flavia a chance to answer as he left his quarters. Flavia stepped out from behind him and wondered the question herself. If this had been a normal circumstance, she would not have reacted kindly to the Trion's question but he did have a point. Many of the Council were cruel but not all of them were. The Master himself now that he was in charge displayed a usual cruelty as well. It was this that had made Flavia realise that the there was no way the blond haired man could possibly be the Doctor.

Then she noticed something about the schematics that Turlough had on his desk, something that alarmed her. She needed to tell Turlough right away. The boy was smart but he didn't understand Gallifreyan.

"No, that's impossible," Flavia murmured. "He couldn't dare do that. No Time Lord ever would."

"Except for me of course!"

That voice caused Flavia to spin her head around quickly. The Master, dressed in a smooth, regal black funereal tuxedo had a darkly smile on his face. Flavia noticed that behind him Turlough had been manhandled by Maxil and another guard before the latter guard rendered the Trion unconscious.

"You startled me," Flavia feigned a level of coolness that had not been uncommonly feigned before. "Why is he unconscious?"

"Come now, Flavia," the Master smiled, swiping the schematics from her and folding them up until they fitted into his jacket pocket. "How long have you known?"

Flavia kept silent, looking over at Turlough but also looking for a possible escape as well. The Master then pointed his TCE at her throat.

"I won't ask a second time, Chancellor."

Flavia decided there was no point in keeping quiet, so she answered. "A while."

"And you know where the Doctor is?"

Flavia thought before answering this question. The Master grabbed her and threw her towards the other guard, who firmly grabbed her right arm while Maxil supported Turlough by throwing the lad over his back.

"He already knows what you're up to," Flavia struggled in the soldier's grip. "It's madness. You know what happened to Borusa. What makes you think you'll have any success?"

"Well for starters my dear," the Master smiled at her. "I actually know more about good old Rassilon and that includes outwitting him."

"No-one can outwit Rassilon, you arrogant fool," Flavia snapped.

"I'm about to prove you wrong," the Master smiled before turning to Maxil. "Take them away. Lock them up."

"As you wish," Maxil smiled thinly before both him and his guard left with a struggling Flavia and a still rendered unconscious Turlough.

The Master watched as Flavia was being dragged away. Leaving Turlough's room, he headed back to the Presidential suite that had grown accustomed to in the last fortnight. Borusa certainly enjoyed his extravagant side and the Master found his little lair more than sufficiently handy for his own schemes.

Rassilon would be a different kettle of fish compared to the Doctor but no-one, even immortal was going to deter the Master from his set goal. In the grand scheme of things, his predecessors would completely understand where he was coming from and envy the fact that with his own little genius, he could achieve the said goal. And all he needed was a simple ring, which he already had in his possession.

It had taken them a while to get there but the Doctor and Tegan had finally made it to the High Tower. Manoeuvring between that wretched Raston robot and some Ogrons hadn't been an easy feat but compared to what the Master could've thrown at them, both the Doctor and Tegan were relieved and worried by the challenges that had met them.

"That had felt a little too easy," Tegan muttered as they were entering the tomb of Rassilon. "And I know the Master well enough to know something's not right."

"Yes Tegan," the Doctor pointed the torch as they looked at Rassilon's tomb. "Something isn't right at all."

"Who enters my tomb?" boomed a familiar voice, startling both the Doctor and Tegan. Turning around, they found they weren't alone.

"Rassilon," the Doctor murmured as he faced the ancient Time Lord. "I have a favour to ask of you."

"I have already granted enough favours on this day, Time Lord," Rassilon smiled thinly, looking at the Doctor. "Though I can easily conjecture what your hearts desire may be. You wish to returned to your own form, don't you?"

"If you wouldn't mind," the Doctor eyed Rassilon cautiously. "My own form was stolen from me by the Master, which is another issue I need help with."

"You wish for me to destroy him?"

The Doctor paused. He was conflicted on this one. Annihilating the Master would be the only guarantee of stopping him forever. The Master was never going to change. The fact that the Doctor had his body stolen by the Master only served to prove that but at the same time, the Doctor didn't fancy condemning his former friend either.

"I wouldn't be so quick to destroy anyone if I were you," a teleport beam descended in the tomb and there stood the Master.

"You've changed my look," the Doctor said dryly, looking at the funereal look the Master had gone for. "I don't like it."

"Well then, you are fortunate, Doctor," the Master smiled. "Your body has served it's purpose. It seems our brilliant High Council aren't as empty headed as I had believed them to be. They've seen through my clever disguise so I will return what it rightfully yours. You may proceed."

The last three words had been directed to Rassilon. The Master threw the opaque ring towards the Doctor who caught it and eyed it suspiciously.

"I'll be needing that," the Master smiled at the Doctor.

"What for?"

"You'll see," the Master winked as Rassilon struck the two of them with a bold blue light, bringing both men to their knees.

The Doctor and the Master writhed in pain for about a minute as the process was being reversed. Slumping back, the Doctor brought his hands to his head, ran them through his hair and then got up as the Master had risen and placed the ring on him.

"Tegan, watch out!" the Doctor had shouted but a bolt from the ring sent him spiralling back.

Tegan had no time to react as the Master elbowed her into the face and rendered her unconscious. Rassilon turned on the Master determined to stop him but found himself surprised when the Master froze him into position.

The Doctor dusted himself off the ground and stared at the Master who was smiling even wider than before.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, Doctor?"

"No," the Doctor grunted as he looked at Tegan and then a frozen Rassilon. "What have you done to him?"

"Nothing much," the Master glanced over at the ancient Time Lord. "Just a modest bit of perpetual freezing, which is nothing compared to what I intend to do to good old Rassilon."

"And what's that?"

"Why," the Master smiled as he stepped towards Rassilon. "To take his immortality of course. What other use would this relic have?"

Rassilon for the first time since he had become burdened with the curse of immortality screamed almightily. He had underestimated this foolish Time Lord, the Time Lord that was now siphoning power from him.

The Doctor had seen enough of what the Master was attempting to do and launched himself into attack mode. He hated resorting to violence but also knew that now was not the time to allow his abhorrence dictate his judgement. Throwing himself towards the Master, he tried to prize the ring off the other Time Lord's finger.

"Foolish, Doctor," the Master laughed as he tried swatting the Doctor away from him. "Do you really think that is going to work?"

"Every little helps," the Doctor grunted but it wasn't enough and the Master had tossed him aside like a ragdoll, throwing him beside a still unconscious Tegan once again.

"Not this time," the Master smiled. His eyes glowed a dark blue and the evil Time Lord found himself raising his free hand towards the Doctor. "Sit back down."

When the Doctor tried to get up, the Master made his knees wobble and he dropped to the floor.

"I could get used to this," the Master smiled as he glanced back and forth between Rassilon and the Doctor, unsure of whom to lord his new abilities over the most.

"You are weak, Time Lord," Rassilon grunted. "Your body will not sustain my power."

"It's doing well so far," the Master snarled, a literal cat-like snarl for extra emphasis as he managed to even make Rassilon fall to his knees momentarily.

"Listen to him," the Doctor tried getting up. The Master allowed him to do this before slamming him into a wall. The Doctor grunted in pain.

"The power's not meant for either one of us," the Doctor gave his old enemy a steely gaze. The Master could tell that gaze meant surrender or else but he didn't care, he just smiled all the more.

"Then tell me Doctor, who is it meant for?" the Master glared at him brazenly. "You?"

The Doctor's warning glare was the only response the Master got from him. This only maddened the Master, who then shot a bolt of electricity at the Doctor's chest, making both his hearts race intensely.

"If you were given real power, Doctor, you'd run away from it," the Master spat accusingly. "You could be president of this planet and you chose to run. Even I fail to see the logic in that."

"That's because you and I are different when it comes to power," the Doctor straightened himself up. "All you want to do is destroy and subjugate. Real power is more than that and you don't want to see it."

"Boring," the Master tutted in a sing-song and turned to Rassilon. "And you're worse."

"I do not accept the judgement of an underling such as you," Rassilon boomed furiously. The Doctor looked on but nearly flinched when a familiar hand touched his shoulder. He didn't need to turn to know who the person was behind him.

"No, you stay in a dingy crypt, arranging childish games between other races for your own amusement because you're too scared to enter the fray. I think the thing that binds you and the Doctor together is your cowardice, though from you, it's even more of a disappointment," the Master walked towards the wizened Time Lord. "The great and mighty Rassilon, soon to be no more. I bet you wish you had used your immortality wisely now, eh?"

Rassilon shot the Master a murderous look and for a second, the bearded man was almost afraid before looking at his ring reassuringly. Its stone was nearly completely green. It just needed a tiny shade more and it would be done. Complete and total power would be his as well as Gallifrey and the start of the universe.

"And you might as well reveal yourself while you're at it," the Master smirked as he turned. "To be honest, I was expecting you a little sooner than this. Even Maxil isn't that much of a challenge to get past."

"Who said he got past him?" the Doctor smiled with both Turlough and Maxil in front of him.

Maxil raised his gun to shoot at the Master, but the Master blew the weapon out of the commander's hand. This gave the Doctor the chance he needed to try again as he used the fact that the Master's focus on Maxil broke the force that had kept his pressed against the wall long enough to run over to him.

"As if I'm going to fall for that one," the Master tried to turn his focus on the Doctor but it had been too late and his hold on Rassilon had loosened long for the Time Lord to face the Master.

"I believe you have something of mine," Rassilon sneered coldly, raising his hand and pointing it at the Master's ring, siphoning the power back from it back into his body. The Master howled in pain as he was brought to his knees and the ring shattered into pieces. "You will die now."

"NO!" the Doctor shouted, staring at Rassilon and then the Master coldly. "He will not die. Death would be too quick for him. Wouldn't it?"

The Master did not respond. He didn't need to.

"You would allow him to live?" Rassilon looked surprised but accepted defeat. "If this is your wish, then so be it. But I implore you to get him out of my crypt soon before I take rank over your authority, Lord President."

"Doctor!" the Doctor huffed but looked at the old Time Lord. "Go. I'll deal with him."

Within seconds, Rassilon had disappeared back into his crypt, as if he had never been woken up in the first place.

"What do you plan to do with me then?" the Master asked, noticing that Turlough, a drowsy but conscious Tegan and Maxil were standing behind the Doctor.

"Would someone mind explaining what's going on?" Tegan looked at the Master on the ground. "Why isn't he in a cell?"

The Doctor didn't answer but nodded for Maxil to restrain the Master. The Master's hands were bound behind his back with tight manacles and before he could protest, the Doctor pulled out a black handkerchief from his coat pocket and gagged him with it. The Master moaned around his gag as the Doctor circled him, tapping his shoulder.

"I'm not going to kill you but I won't let you run loose either," the Doctor said. "Solitary confinement. Life imprisonment. No contact with the outside world or ranking officials and no trial, starting from now."

The Master looked on as the Doctor and Maxil angrily yanked each of his arms and dragged him through the teleport system with Tegan and Turlough following close behind them. When they had gotten back to the High Council, the Master was shoved into a padded cell, no window and the door deadlock sealed. He was completely alone with his own thoughts.

The Doctor hadn't even asked Maxil to loosen his bindings and the gag was still left around his mouth. The Master had seen the Doctor really angry once or twice before but never like this. His jaw was also recovering from the stinging smack the Doctor had given him before he had been thrown into the cell. Perhaps this incarnation wasn't so placid after all. For the foreseeable future, the Master would have to resign himself to that fact as he began his solitude. A merciful Time Lord might have killed him. The Doctor clearly had run out of the stuff.

It had been a quiet trip back to the TARDIS. The Doctor hadn't even waited for Flavia to catch up with him; he had hastily exited with the TARDIS after entrusting Maxil with the Master's TARDIS as well. For the best part of an hour no-one spoke. Tegan and Turlough exchanged some looks but would say nothing and the Doctor fiddled away with the console, not wanting to open his mouth but wondering if he had done the right thing.

Most Time Lords, like people would lose their minds if bound to their own thoughts, their own company for the rest of their natural lives but what other choice did he have? The Doctor wasn't a cold blooded killer and while Rassilon would've happily wiped out the Master, the Doctor just couldn't do it. Then he realised that he was still in the Master's altered version of his own costume and realised that there was something else he needed to exalt his ship of.

Stripping off his own quarters, the Doctor finally found another version of his own costume before taking the Master's clothing and setting his sonic screwdriver on them, causing a mini-explosion. When a panicked Tegan and Turlough came to his side and saw the Doctor putting out a small fire, he turned to acknowledge them.

"Now we're done," he murmured softly escorting them out of his quarters and closing the door behind them. It was good to have his own body back.

- The End -


End file.
